We often take ourselves too
seriously. God and Christ are usually depicted as stern and humorless
beings, but the truth is that God has a tremendous sense of humor. After
all, He created man, and the things man does in defiance of God are quite
humorous, Psalm 2:1-4, 37:12-13; Proverbs 1:24-26. Humor is
essential for good health, for, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but
a broken spirit drieth the bones,” Proverbs 17:22. Right laughter
is a foretaste of the Kingdom of God, “Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye
shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh,” Luke
6:21.

The first recorded laughter in Scripture
is that of Abraham. God promised that Abraham would have a son through
Sarah, through whom he would be the father of nations and kings. “Then
Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child
be born unto him that is an hundred years old? And shall Sarah, that is
ninety years old, bear?” Genesis 17:17. Abraham was not being
irreverent when he laughed at God’s promise. In God’s sense of humor, it
was funny for Him to fulfill His promise to Abraham in such an unusual
way. Sarah was past childbearing age, “Therefore Sarah laughed within
herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old
also?” Genesis 18:12. In line with God’s divine humor, the
promised child was named Isaac (Yitzak, meaning “laughter”). The
blessings of God through His chosen people originated with, and continued to be
marked by, humor and laughter.

There is a misuse of humor. “But
fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named
among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor
jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks,” Ephesians
5:3-4.

The fruit of the Spirit is marked by
“love, joy, peace,” Galatians 5:22. With God’s Spirit, we can
rejoice in the Lord always, even when times are tough. “Be glad in the
Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in
heart,” Psalm 32:11. “And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it
shall rejoice in His salvation,” Psalm 35:9. “Let all those that
seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say
continually, the Lord be magnified,” Psalm 40:16. “Rejoice in the
Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness,” Psalm
97:12. “Glory ye in His holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that
seek the Lord,” Psalm 105:3. “Rejoice in the Lord always: and
again I say, Rejoice,” Philippians 4:4.

A 127-page book explaining Christ’s
humor, The Humor of Christ, by Elton Trueblood, is a real
gem. Throughout the Gospels, Christ employed humor for the sake of Truth
and many of His teachings, when seen in this light, become brilliantly clear
for the first time. Irony, satire, paradox, and even laughter, are
demonstrated in the teaching of Christ, which refute the false idea that our
Savior was a somber, sad individual. Instead, He used humor to illustrate
God’s Truth. The Appendix gives thirty humorous Gospel passages for
further study.

Trueblood maintains, correctly, “Any
alleged Christianity which fails to express itself in gaiety, at some point, is
clearly spurious.” Our problem is that we take ourselves too
seriously. That is why we have difficulty seeing the humor of Christ.

For example, we may, erroneously,
conclude that Matthew 23 is only a searing condemnation of the Pharisees.
Not so. Jesus showed how ridiculous the scribes and Pharisees were, those
who made broad their phylacteries and enlarged the tassels of their garments,
so as to be seen by others as “righteous” men, verse 5. Vanity is
one human failing that is essentially laughable. Acceptance of Christ’s
wit and humor is not irreligious or blasphemous, but essential for us to
understand His message.

You may order a photocopy of The
Humor of Christ, for a suggested donation of $6 postpaid, from Giving
& Sharing, PO Box 100, Neck City, MO 64849.

The Papacy is the Antichrist

The ancient Waldensians,
and the Protestant reformers, did not pussyfoot around. They called the
Papacy the Anti­christ. In 1120, twenty years before Peter Waldo, the
Waldensespublish­ed a book, “What Is Antichrist?” Reiner­ius, inquisi­tor
and persecutor of the Walden­ses, reported, “They hold the church of Rome to be
the whore of Babylon.”

Many Seventh-day
Adventists to­day are ashamed of their denomination for its former condemnation
of the errors of the Roman Catholic Church. Likewise, books like Babylon
Mystery Religion have been downplayed by the Church of God.

We have reprinted J.A.
Wylie’s classic 1888 book, The Papacy is the Antichrist, 36 pp.,
suggested donation $5 postpaid. Wylie compares the teach­ings of Jesus
with the Papacy, and shows how they are totally opposite. It is Christ
versus Anti­christ. Which one will you choose?

Cooking Oil for Burns?

Responding to our last
Newsletter’s article, “Home Remedies,” someone said that cooking oil is not
good for burns. It is not the first choice, but Dr. Barbara Boss
reports: “At a caravan rally many years ago there was a teenage boy who
got very bad third degree burns over a large area of his body playing with
bonfires. He was in agony and all I could find was cooking oil, so I
poured it over the burnt areas, clothes and all, in order to exclude air.
Hospitals were a long way off. The day following he was seen by a doctor
and came to thank me. He did not look the worse for wear or in pain
either. Paraffin gauze used in hospi­tals works on the same principle.

“In my experience,
pouring cold water on a burn makes it worse. I have an ointment made from
Vaseline and PABA which will not even leave a blister if applied early
enough. Used that when a gas bottle exploded in a chap’s face once —
worked like a dream!”

Our
Nation’s Founders and Christianity

I taught school for
twenty-five years, and ten of those were in the Southern United States.
When I began to teach, prayer was offered in class every morning. Now that
people who oppose Christianity have infiltrated both Canada and the USA, it has
all had to stop. Jesus never forced His beliefs upon anyone, and so neither
dare we do it. Our countries are now filled with people who reject Jesus
as the Savior of mankind, and thus we all pay the price of being denied the
freedoms we love.

Patrick Henry is
not quoted properly in our present day school texts. “Give me liberty or give
me death” is not exactly all that he said or why!

Patrick Henry, who is
called the firebrand of the American Revolution, is still remembered for his
words, “Give me liberty or give me death.” But in current textbooks the
context of these words is deleted.

Here is what he actually
said:

“An appeal to arms and
the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle
alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations.
The battle sir, is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet
as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty
God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me
liberty, or give me death.”

These sentences have been
erased from our textbooks. Was Patrick Henry a Christian? The following
year, 1776, he wrote this: “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often
that this great Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not
on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone,
people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here.”

Did you know that 52 of
the 55 signers of the Declaration of Independence were orthodox, deeply
committed Christians? The other three all believed in the Bible as the
divine truth, the God of scripture, and His personal intervention. It is
the same Congress that formed the American Bible Society. Immediately
after creating the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress voted
to purchase and import 20,000 copies of Scripture for the people of this
nation.

Consider these words that
Thomas Jefferson wrote on the front of his well-worn Bible: “I am a real
Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have
little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our
Creator and, I hope, to the pure doctrine of Jesus also.” He was also the
chairman of the American Bible Society, which he considered his highest and
most important role. Jefferson also declared, “God who gave us life, gave us
liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure if we have removed
their only firm basis: a conviction in the minds of men that these liberties
are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath?
Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His
justice cannot sleep forever.” Jefferson’s words thunder against today’s
liberals who argue for the separation of religion and state. When
President, he said, “No nation has ever yet existed or been governed without
religion. Nor can be. The Christian religion is the best religion
that has ever been given to man and I, as chief Magistrate of this nation, am
bound to give it the sanction of my example.”

Consider these words from
George Washington, the Father of our Nation, in his farewell speech on
September 19, 1796: “It is impossible to govern the world without God and the
Bible. Of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity,
our religion and morality are the indispensable supporters. Let us with
caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without
religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that our national
morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

Was George Washington a
Christian? Consider these words from his personal prayer book: “Oh,
eternal and everlasting God, direct my thoughts, words and work. Wash
away my sins in the immaculate blood of the Lamb and purge my heart by Thy Holy
Spirit. Daily, frame me more and more in the likeness of Thy son, Jesus Christ,
that living in Thy fear, and dying in Thy favor, I may in thy appointed time
obtain the resurrection of the justified unto eternal life. Bless, O Lord, the
whole race of mankind and let the world be filled with the knowledge of Thee
and Thy son, Jesus Christ.” Washington said, “True religion affords to
government its surest support.”

Consider these words by John Adams,
our second president, who also served as chairman of the American Bible
Society. In an address to military leaders he said, “We have no
government armed with the power capable of contending with human passions,
unbridled by morality and true religion. Our Constitution was made only for a
moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of
any other.” He also said, “Statesmen may plan and speculate for liberty,
but it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon
which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is
pure virtue.” Again, Adams said that this nation was founded on “the
general principles of Christianity.”

Benjamin Franklin, “The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see
of this truth: ‘that God governs in the affairs of men.’ And if a sparrow
cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can
rise without His aid?” In March, 1778, Franklin said, “A Bible and a
newspaper in every house, a good school in every district — all studied and
appreciated as they merit — are the principle support of virtue, morality, and
civil liberty.” Franklin said, “Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to
God.”

How about our first
Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Jay? He stated that when we
select our national leaders, if we are to preserve our Nation, we must select
Christians. “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and
it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian Nation to
select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”

Elias Boudinot, president of the Continental Congress, later a
congressman from New Jersey, and President of the American Bible Society, “Good
government generally begins in the family, and if the moral character of a
people once degenerate, their political character must soon follow.”

John Witherspoon, the only clergyman in the Continental Congress, “He
is the best friend to American liberty, who is most sincere and active in
promoting true and undefiled religion, and who sets himself with the greatest
firmness to bear down on profanity and immorality of every kind. Whoever is an
avowed enemy of God, I scruple not to call him an enemy to his country.”

Benjamin Rush signer of the Declaration of Independence, “The only
foundation for . . . a republic is to be laid in Religion. Without this there
can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is
the object and life of all republican governments.”

Charles Carroll, signer of the Declaration of Independence, “Without
morals, a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are
decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure (and)
which insures to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid
foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments.”

John Dickinson, signer of the Constitution and a member of the
Continental Congress, said, “The rights essential to happiness. . . . We
claim them from a higher source — from the King of kings and Lord of all the
earth.”

In 1782, the United
States Congress voted this resolution: “The Congress of the United States
recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools.”

John Quincy Adams,
son of John Adams, was the sixth U.S. President. He was also the chairman
of the American Bible Society, which he considered his highest and most
important role. On July 4, 1821, President Adams said, “The highest glory
of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the
principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”

Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, “A patriot without religion, in
my estimation, is as great a paradox as an honest man without the fear of God.
Is it possible that he whom no moral obligations bind, can have any real Good
Will towards Men? Can he be a patriot who, by an openly vicious conduct, is
undermining the very bonds of Society? . . . The Scriptures tell us
righteousness exalteth a Nation.”

Daniel Webster, one of our most distinguished leaders, said, “Our
ancestors established their system of government on morality and religious
sentiment. Moral habits, they believed, cannot safely be entrusted on any other
foundation than religious principle, not any government secure which is not
supported by moral habits . . . .What­ever makes men good Christians, makes
them good citizens.”

Calvin Coolidge,
our 30th President of the United States, reaffirmed this truth when he wrote,
“The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the
teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in
these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country.”

William Holmes
McGuffey was author of the McGuffey Reader, which was used for over
100 years in our public schools with over 125 million copies sold until it was
stopped in 1963. President Lincoln called him the “Schoolmaster of the
Nation.”

Listen to these words of
Mr. McGuffey: “The Christian religion is the religion of our country. From it
are derived our notions on the character of God, on the great moral Governor of
the universe. On its doctrines are founded the peculiarities of our free
institutions. From no source has the author drawn more conspicuously than from
the sacred Scriptures. From all these extracts from the Bible I make no
apology.”

Of the first 108 universities
founded in America, 106 were distinctly Christian, including the first, Harvard
University, chartered in 1636. In the original Harvard Student
Handbook, rule number one was that students seeking entrance must know Latin
and Greek so that they could study the scriptures: “Let every student be
plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his
life and studies, is to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, John
17:3; and therefore to lay Jesus Christ as the only foundation of all sound
knowledge and learning. And seeing the Lord only giveth wisdom, let every one
seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seek it of Him (Proverbs 2:3).”
For over 100 years, more than 50% of all Harvard graduates were pastors!

It is clear from history
that the Bible and the Christian faith were foundational to our educational and
judicial system. However, in 1947, there was a radical change of direction for
the Supreme Court. It required ignoring every precedent of Supreme Court
ruling for the past 160 years. The Supreme Court ruled in a limited way
to affirm a wall of separation between church and State in the public
classroom.

In the coming years, this
led to removing prayer from public schools in 1962. Here is the prayer
that was banished: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence on Thee. We beg
Thy blessings upon us and our parents and our teachers and our country. Amen.”

In 1963, the Supreme
Court ruled that Bible reading was outlawed as unconstitution­al in the public
school system. The court offered this justification: “If portions of the
New Testament were read without explanation, they could and have been psycho­logically
harmful to children.”

Bible reading was now
unconstitutional, though the Bible was quoted 94 percent of the time by those
who wrote our Constitution and shaped our Nation and its system of education
and justice and government.

In 1965, the Courts
denied as unconstitutional, the right of a student in the public school
cafeteria to bow his head and pray audibly for his food. In 1980, Stone
vs. Graham outlawed the Ten Commandments in our public schools. The Supreme
Court said this: “If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments were to have any
effect at all, it would be to induce schoolchildren to read them. And if
they read them, meditated upon them, and perhaps venerated and obeyed them,
this is not a permissible objective.”

Should we educate our
children to follow the moral principles of the Ten Command­ments? James
Madison, a primary author of the Constitution of the United States, said
this: “We have staked the whole future of our new nation, not upon the power of
government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political
constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves
according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments.” Madison said,
“Religion [is] the basis and foundation of Government,” and “Cursed be all that
learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ.”

Today, we are asking God
to bless America. But, how can He bless a Nation that has departed so far from
Him? Prior to September 11, He was not welcome in America.

President Andrew Jackson
said, “the Bible, sir, is the rock upon which this Republic stands.” If our
Republic throws away this Rock, it will certainly fall.

Revisionists have
rewritten history to remove the truth about our country’s Christian
roots. You are encouraged to make copies, and share with others, so that
the truth of our nation’s history will be told.

— adapted and expanded from an article by Morvel Klause, from the Internet

Note: One of the best sources of
information about our constitutional, moral, and religious history, is
Wallbuilders, led by David Barton. You may wish to visit their website, www.wallbuilders.com.

Burying, Not Cremating, the Dead

Alvin J. Schmidt, in his
book, Under the Influence, How Christianity Transformed Civilization,
pp. 70-74, gives some surprising information why early Christians were opposed
to cremation. It was a continuation of their belief in the sanctity of
human life, and this reverence did not stop with death.

Romans commonly cremated
their dead, and Christians strongly opposed cremation. Like their Hebrew
ancestors, they saw cremation as a pagan custom, cruel and violent, to the dead
instead of respectful, for the deceased. Yes, Christians knew that God
was able to resurrect the dead in any condition, but their Roman persecutors
deliberately cremated Christian martyrs to show their utter contempt for
them. Surviving Christians would try to gather up the fragments of their
brethren from the flames, so that the deceased could “sleep in peace,” an expression
found on many epitaphs in the Christian catacombs.

The modern word,
“cemetery,” comes from the Christian term for a burial place, koimeterion,
a Greek word meaning “dormitory,” where people sleep. With the growing
influence of Christianity in the Roman Empire, cremation became rare by the
third century, and by the fourth century it had almost disappeared. In
the eighth century, Emperor Charlemagne made cremation a capital crime.
Not until the nineteenth century did cremation make a comeback into Western societies,
and only then by liberals who patterned their thought after the Romans, who
denied the Biblical doctrine of the resurrection.

Contrary to centuries of
Christian opposition to cremation, more and more Christian denominations, even
Sabbath-keeping ones, are allowing cremation. Before 1930, cremation in
the United States was considered “bizarre.” In 1996, about 22% of the
dead in America were cremated, estimated to rise to 40% by 2010.

Instead of following the
Bible injunction to return the dead to the ground, Genesis 3:19, people
today are sprinkling the ashes of their loved ones on the ocean, shooting them
into space, etc. One firm in California mixes ashes with gunpowder and
packs them into fireworks; an Iowa firm will, upon request, put the ashes into
shotgun shells. Among non-Christians, cremation is an open denial of the
resurrection. Among professing Christians, cremation is deemed acceptable
because their church has caved in to prevailing views. The Roman Catholic
Church long opposed cremation, but in 1963 made an about-face, even producing
an order of worship for the practice. In 1969, the Church of England
followed suit, as did many other churches. Some of these same churches
now accept divorce, abortion, and homosexual “marriage” as well.

“The early Christians
were mindful of Christ’s promise: ‘For a time is coming when all who are in the
graves will hear His voice and come out — those who have done good will
rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned,’ (John
5:28-29). They heard Him say ‘graves,’ not ‘urns’.”

Our Study No. 181,
“Cremation Versus Burial — Which?” received perhaps the harshest criticism of
any article we have ever published. Subscriptions to the Giving &
Sharing Newsletter were cancelled, and I was called a “Pharisee.” A well-known
Sabbatarian website answers a question about cremation with the ridiculous
statement that the Bible is silent on cremation. He who is willingly
ignorant, let him be ignorant. I will stick with the Bible. You may
view more scriptures against the practice of cremation at www.giveshare.org/BibleStudy/
181.cremation.html. Following the Bible example, and respecting
the dead, leads us to honor our dead with a decent burial.

Ten Super Foods You Should Eat!

Health advice usually tells you what you
should not eat. While there are some “do not’s,” there are also
some “do’s.”

Nutrition Action Healthletter gives the names of bad foods sold today. They
also recommend good foods to eat. You may wish to subscribe to their
excellent health newsletter: 1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 300,
Washington, DC 20009.

These good folks
recommend ten foods we should eat. (1) Cantaloupe. A quarter of
this delicious melon supplies almost an entire day’s supply of vitamin A and
C. (2) Sweet Potato (not to be confused with yams) are one of the best
vegetables you can eat. (3) Skim or low-fat milk, (4) Salmon or other
fatty fish (such as rainbow trout) are rich in omega-3 fats that can help
reduce risk of heart attacks. (5) Oranges are rich in vitamin C.
(6) Broccoli has vitamin C, carotenoids, and folic acid. (7) Whole-grain
Bread is higher in fiber and a dozen vitamins and minerals than gooey white
bread. Check our website for information on ordering a Bosch Bread
Machine, www.giveshare.org/Health.
(8) Watermelon is an excellent source of vitamin C and carotenoids. (9)
Beans are inexpensive, low in fat, and rich in protein, iron, folic acid, and
fiber. We like garbanzo, pinto, black, Navy, kidney, or lentils.
(10) Spinach or Kale are loaded with vitamin C, carotenoids, calcium, and
fiber. Steamed with a little butter or olive oil, they are a feast.

If these ten great foods
are part of your diet, you may enjoy better health. Write for our free
book, Biblical Health and Healing for more information.

Elephant Garlic

Allium
ampeloprasum, also known as “elephant garlic,” is a huge variety producing
bulbs weighing up to one pound or more, eight times the size of normal garlic.
It is delicious in salads, stews, and soups because of its slightly milder
flavor. Elephant garlic is hardy and can be fall planted in most parts of the
country to produce enormous yields next summer. It must be winter mulched in
extreme temperatures. Our friends at Nichols Garden Nursery developed this
variety, and have spent forty years selecting for both hardiness and flavor.

In Search of … the Origin of Nations Traces the peoples of the world to their origin as
set out in the mysterious Table of Nations contained in Genesis 10.
The book runs like a detective story, weaving through centuries of human
history; wading through thousands of texts; data is analyzed and logical
deduction utilized to realize the obvious conclusions.

The book explores the
descendants of Ham, Japheth and Shem. Where are the descendants of Cush,
Nimrod, Assur, Elam today? Who are the American Indians, Eskimos, Maoris,
Thais, Bantu and Serbians etc?